Community - GolfBusiness

Community
by Ronnie Musselwhite
Calling
Card
Setting the table
incorporating baskets into the
restaurants and catering allows
guests to see how the baskets can
be used for on-course beverages,
gifts and storage.
Cool Weaves
Longaberger Golf Club
Newark, Ohio
When your namesake parent company has made
millions making and selling baskets for nearly a century,
it only makes sense that you incorporate the
cash cow into your marketing efforts. Longaberger
Golf Club has taken that concept a few steps further
by integrating the basket theme throughout the club,
from displays in the shop to breadbaskets in the restaurant
to the course logo.
How long they’ve been featured: Baskets have been
incorporated into the guest experience since the
club opened in 1999.
What makes Them special: All the baskets are handmade
at the Longaberger Company, whose signature
basket headquarters can be seen from the golf course.
revenue-generating opportunities: Numerous. Corporate
groups can custom-design gift baskets for
outings and events, and individual guests can buy
a basket as a memento of their golf experience.
Longaberger Golf Club also generates significant
business from the 40,000 consultants and families
who visit the corporate headquarters annually.
WHAT CUSTOMERS ARE SAYING: Customers like how
the baskets provide a unique sense of place that
ties in with the region’s most famous landmark in
a personal way.
56 GOLFBUSINESS March 2013